Pillow



Dec. 14, 1943. 1 THOMPSON P ILLOW Filed June 9, 1941 INVENTOR Patentedcs. 14, 1943 PILLOW Etta Thompson, St. Louis, Mo. Application June 9,1941, Serial No. 397,275

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in pillows. More particularly,the invention relates to pillows that are used to support the wearershead in such a manner that they relieve strain on the wearers neck,

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved pillow thatsupports the wearers head.

Many different kinds of pillows have been known and used for some time.Most of these pillows are rectangular in shape and are not designed toconform to any particular part of the human anatomy. This type of pillowis quite serviceable where the user is lying down, but it is not veryhelpful where the user is sitting up. This has been the eXperienCe ofmany invalids and sick people who must sit up all day in hospitals. Itoften taxes the strength of these persons too much, to sit up for anylength of time without some sort of support for their heads. Thesepersons often try to use the ordinary rectangular pillow to give themthe desired amount of support for their heads. When this type of pillowis placed behind the users head, it keeps the user from sitting in anatural position. The body of the pillow, that is behind ones head,forces ones head forward. The users head tends to move back to thenatural position and presses against the body of the pillow. Thispressure against the pillow causes a distinct pressure on the back ofones head and neck, and also strains the muscles of the neck. Thispressure and neck strain cooperate with the inclination of the usershead to prevent the attainment of real comfort from the use of theordinary rectangular pillow. In some cases, persons have tried to use acorner of the pillow to reduce the size of the portion of the pillowthat is behind their heads, but the pillows soon slip out of place. Thisalso interferes with the patients comfort and rest. For these reasons,the ordinary rectangular pillow is not very satisfactory when it is usedto support the head of a person who must sit up day after day. Theinvention, on the other hand, provides a new form of pillow that isspecially designed to support the Wearers head in a comfortable positionand thereby prevent any neck strain. It is an object of the presentinvention to provide a new form of pillow that supports the wearers headand prevents any neck strain.

When the ordinary rectangular pillow is used by patients that must situp all day, it does not give lateral support to the head. The back ofthe users head may rest against the pillow, but the rest of the usershead is not given any support by the pillow. Where this is the case, the

user may fall asleep and begin to nod, If the patients head happens tonod to one side, it may incline farther and farther. It may incline soThis will awaken the user and may even strain the muscles of his neck.This is quite objectionable since patients should secure proper rest andshould not be subject to any sort of strain. The invention obviates thisobjection by providing a pillow that gives lateral support to the headof the user. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide apillow that gives lateral support to the head of the user.

Where a person tries to sleep while traveling, his head will nod unlessit is supported. Where the sleepers head nods, the sleeper may beawakened. This prevents the attainment of proper rest. This occurs quiteoften when one is traveling, because the jostling that results from themovement of the conveyance fosters the nodding of the head. Travelershave tried to relieve In addition these pillows sometimes tend to slipout of place. This forces the user to hold the pillow or to lean againstsome part of the conveyance to hold the pillow in place. Because ofthis, the ordinary pillow is not suitable for adding to the comfort oftravelers that are sitting up. The invention, on the other hand,provides a novel form of pillow that is designed to fit around the usersneck, This pillow has large side portions that support the'users headand neck. When the user falls asleep, he may sleep uninterruptedlybecause the pillow supports his head and avoids neck strain, It istherefore an object of the present invention to provide a pillow thatfits around the neck of the user and has relatively large sides thatgive lateral support to the users head.

The pillow provided by the present invention has been scientificallydesigned to support the back of a users neck and head without exertingan unpleasant pressure thereon. Where the ordinary pillow is placedbehind the users head and a pressure on the pillow. quite uncomfortable.This it provents the attainment of real comfort. The pillow provided bythe invention however, is specially designed to provide suflicientsupport for the head and neck without creating an unpleasant pressure onthe head and neck or the user. This is the result of the provision of asmall center portion for the pillow, that engages the back of the usersneck. Thi central portion is designed to be compressible, under lightpressure, to fit the concave portion Of the users neck. When the centralportion of the pillow is compressed, it cooperates with the chair orseat to support the head. In that way any pressure between the usershead and neck and the pillow and chair is distributed so that no part ofthe head is subjected to an unpleasant pressure. It is therefore apillow having a small, easily compressed portion that engages the backof the users neck.

Other objects and advantages of the invent on will appear from thedrawing and accompanying description.

In the drawing and accompanying description, a preferred form of theinvention is shown and described but it is to be understood that thedrawing and accompanying description do notlimit the invention and theinvention willbe defined by the appended claim.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the pillow'provided by the invention,and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the pillow shown in Fig. l, andshows the internal structure of the pillow.

Referring to the drawing'indetail, the relatively large side portions ofthe pillow'are denoted by the numeral in. These relatively large sideportions of the pillows may be of any suitable design or shape but theymust be large enough to give lateral support to the head. These sideportions limit the lateral movement of the head and keep it frominclining so far that the neck muscles are strained. The side portionsare preferably designed so that their free ends tend to stay together.The tendency of the free ends of the side portions to stay together,tends to maintain the pillow in position around the'usersneck. In somecases, the ends of the portions H) of the p11- low may be provided withpieces of ribbon or tape.

These pieces of ribbon or tape may be tied together to positivelyprevent the removal of the pillow from around the neck of the user. Thistransforms the pillow into a dollar that can be worn to give supportneck. This is often done in connection with operations. After eyeoperations the patient must sometimes lie on his back for many hourswithout moving his head. It has been found that th pillow provided bytheinvention gives sufficient support to the head to hold it in thedesired position for the specified period of time. The pillow providedby the invention will permit the patient to lie in a natural andcomfortable position, but it will prevent any movement of the usershead. The factthat the ends of the to the wearer's head and portions itare tied together makes certain that the pillow will not move and failto support the patients head. The side portions Ill of the pillow areseparated from each other by a small and soft portion l2. The portion [2is preferably soft and yielding and it must be smaller than the sideportion Hi. This center portion [2 is separated from the side portionill by partitions l4. These partitions l4 may be of any suitable designand shape, but they must separate the interior of the portions Ill fromthe interior of the portion I2. The pillow may also be provided with atape l5 that is used as a trim. This adds to the appearance of thepillow but it is not an essential element of the pillow. In making thepillow, the manufacturer stuiis the side portions I!) of the pillowrather tightly. The stufiing is not so tight that the side portions Itare hard and unyielding, but it is tight enough to enable the portions[0 to give lateral support to the wearers head and thereby prevent neckstrain. The center portion 52, on the other hand,'is stuffed ratherloosely. The amount of stuffing in portion !2 is calculated to permitthe back portion I2 to be compressed to the size of the space betweenthe wearers neck and the back of a chair. The proper amount of stuffingpermits a compressing of the back portion of the pillow with arelatively light pressure. This gives the back of the wearers neck theproper support while it enables the wearers shoulders and back of hishead to rest gently against the back ofthe chair. This provides'properrest by distributing the support of the head evenly between theshoulders, the pillow, and the back of the users head. The user of thepillow provided by the invention can sleepin comfort. The pillow willpermit him to sit in a natural position of relaxation and will givesupport to his head and thereby prevent neck strain.

Any material may be used in stuffing the pillow, but the inventionpreferably uses a high grade material that will not lose its life.

The'drawing and specification show and describe a'preferred form or theinvention but it is obvious to those skilled in the art that variouschanges in the form of the invention can be made without-afiecting thescope of. the invention.

What I claim is:

A pillow adapted foruse by a person in a sitting position and adapted torest on and be supported by the shoulders of theuser, said pillowcomprising a relatively small and compressible center portion connectedat its ends to a plurality of relatively large and relativelyincompressible side portions, said center portion and said side portionsarranged in substantially U-shape forming a neck receiving aperture,said side portions having their free ends spaced apart in normally closerelation, a plurality of partitions that separate the interior of saidcenter portion iromthe interiors of said side portions, and said centerportion, said side portions and said partitions arranged to give theexterior portion of the pillow a smooth, uninterruptedsurface.

ETTA THOMPSON.

